A Forehead and a Pig as One
by Nachoman1
Summary: Sakon and Ukon Soma are Ninja of the Leaf, 34 years old, and have a set of daughters: Sakura and Ino Soma, Heirs to their Bloodline and 11 year old pre-genin. This is the girls' story.
1. Chapter 1

Story title: a Forehead and a Pig as One

Fandom: Naruto

Nature: Drama / Action-Adventure

Summary: Sakon and Ukon Soma are Ninja of the Leaf, 34 years old, and have a set of daughters: Sakura and Ino Soma, Heirs to their Bloodline and 11 year old pre-genin.

Disclaimer: The series Naruto and its entire canon, including characters, locations, events and new concepts are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto or whoever he has sold his rights to. This work here is not for profit, although the Nachoman would claim intellectual property of new characters, concepts and events.

If you want to use my characters, just ask me and give me credit.

**Author's Note 1: **I don't like the idea of mixing Japanese and English. I think it simply obscures the meaning of things, so I will avoid naming techniques by their Japanese names, making up Japanese names for whatever new techniques I might make up, or employing Japanese exclamations.

Even so, I will preserve certain Japanese formulae:

(*) Names. I will refer to a '_flying blade_' as a shuriken, to a '_throw able knife/dagger_' as a kunai, to a '_so__mething to wear_' as a kimono, to '_bean-paste noodles_' as miso ramen. Furthermore, I won't even attempt to translate people's names: is just not polite. I would know, considering that my first name translates from Latin into 'Idiot', and my middle name translates from Greek as "Man with no law".

You get the idea.

(*) Japanese terms that could be described as technical slang. I myself speak Tourism-industry English, Engineering English, General-Scientific English, Sci-fi English, Colloquial English, Gastronomy English and Spanish, Colloquial Spanish, Tourism-industry Spanish, Medical Spanish and General-Scientific Spanish, and can read Olden Spanish and some Olden English. There are plenty of terms that mean something in one context, but then mean something completely different on the next. For example, the expression "floral formula" means completely different things on chemistry than in biology: in chemistry, it would refer to either a list of instructions on how to mix chemicals to obtain a compound that would smell like flowers, or the finished compound; on biology, though, a floral formula, more precisely called a floral equation, is a tachygraphic (shorthand) method of describing the morphology (physical shape, in detail) of a flower. Another clear example would be an autoclave: in Medicine and Gastronomy, is little more than an oven that heats stuff using steam rather than direct heat, and little more than a sealed steam-cooker. In Engineering, however, an autoclave is a brutal pressure-based furnace that can be equated with an aerospace version of hammer-and-anvil as a metal-strengthening method, frequently used to forge aluminium ingots to aircraft-grade aluminium.

So, first of all, the word "Jutsu" becomes defined as "_Technique usually only seen used by Ninja_".

The Naruto Universe speaks English, and speaks some Japanese as technical slang.

(*) Honorific prefixes and suffixes. Japanese is riddled with these; speech loses some meaning if they are not present; and constantly translating them wreaks havoc on the English sentence flow. I will translate them when they are independent words, but not when they are prefixes or suffixes modifying a word.

Finally, I need to say that this chapter is overly saccharine, especially concerning a story that's not supposed to be romantic. Please bear with me, as I need to perform some character development before we can go on with the actual story.

Mea culpa

On with the show

* * *

Inoshishi Soma, or just Ino for most people, walked into the ninja academy, looked longingly at the groups of children playing around the yard and, with a sigh, headed directly to her homeroom. Starting their fourth year into ninja academy, she and her sister Sakura had yet to make a decent friendship with anybody at school. Not that she or her sis were ugly or antisocial or anything, but, well, as Daddy said, people who were ugly inside would not relate with them.

But why did these ugly people just seem to have _so much fun!_ Just running around the yard, never having let her or her sister join in!

Oh well.

She reached her homeroom and immediately headed to one of the seats at the back. There were already some children there, all of whom were also as popular as they were in the academy.

There was Aburame Shino, who had his family's ability to tame insects and thus was constantly covered on them. He was a very intelligent, very good observer and very good at following orders to the letter. He always was a challenge and a good sport in Taijutsu practice, although she hadn't been able to assess him that well, with Sakura always being so skittish about touching him. She would love to be his friend but, even getting past the creep factor of all his insects, he had absolutely nothing to talk about outside of class work, and as much personality as stale potato salad. She would have given him a wave, but she couldn't even know if he was even awake with his dark shades on.

Then there was Hinata, heir to the Hyuuga clan. Daddy said she'd be arrogant and a spoiled princess, but she rather was so painfully shy that 'arrogant' was totally out. Furthermore, she never wore makeup, had a hairdo that one would think was all about caring the least possible for her hair, and always seemed to wear the same clothes; so 'spoiled princess' was out, too. She was the best student on all the kunoichi-specific courses (flower arrangement, tea ceremony, music, comportment, cooking…), was their only competition in academics, but was barely getting by in Taijutsu: her form was perfect, her katas were perfect, but enter combat and just as people were unable to land a hit on her, her attacks would always fall short. Ino had tried to befriend her, but talking with her always seemed to be limited to her asking a question and receiving a short answer.

Ino gave her a little wave, and received back a little nod.

And then there was this Sai kid: he was the biggest jerk in the world, insulting anybody who came within earshot! Ino walked by him, ignoring him like he wasn't there.

Naruto Uzumaki used to have a seat up there, too, being an orphan and apparently the last survivor of an unpopular clan, but Iruka had recently moved Naruto to the front, were he could keep an eye on him.

Sitting down at her assigned seat near the corner, Ino watched Uchiha Sasuke stroll into the room. She scowled and looked elsewhere. When they came up to him and confessed six months ago, he had told them that the Uchiha clan was well above being revived through a two-headed freak-show refugee. And she hadn't even wanted to go out with him: it had been Sakura, and she had gone along 'cause, well, they couldn't do anything separately!

Taking a look at the clock, she saw she still had ten minutes before the first bell. Distractedly, she pulled a comb from her book-bag and gave a few strokes to her hair, pooling her ponytail over her left shoulder. Then she reached a little further back, pulled Sakura's Alice headband and began combing Sakura's pink hair over her right shoulder; not like she had anything better to do anyway, and it was a little thing that she would always gladly do for her sis.

There are many things she gladly did for her sis: she had gone along with her sis and confessed to Sasuke, even if only Sakura had even seen anything on the spoiled jerk. Today it had been Sakura's turn to sleep in, so she had done their entire morning routine alone. And tomorrow, like any Tuesday or Friday, it would be Sakura's turn to dress them both in whatever she wanted.

Looking down as to assure herself of what she was wearing, she discreetly adjusted her indigo cargo skirt. She shuddered just thinking about Sakura's tastes: first dyeing her hair bubblegum pink, then buying everything pink and lacy in The Leaf, then insisting that she, Ino, had to help her to save for that _absolutely appalling_ fuchsia furisode kimono that she wanted for their Coming-of-Age ceremony. Thankfully, while Ino was indeed adding money to that particular piggybank (for otherwise Sakura would claim to have been the one to have saved for the garment, then claim final say on the colour), she still had nine years to make her sister see reason, rent a sensibly-coloured one, and do something productive with what would surely be a load of money by then.

Buy an apartment and put it out to rent, for example.

Nonetheless, at certain times she thought that she did a little too much for her sister, like whenever Naruto would come up and try to ask her out.

Such as now.

"Morning Ino! Is Sakura awake? I wanted to ask her out after school's over."

"No, she isn't awake yet, but we have stuff to do." _…like watching grass grow! The nerve of Naruto! Asking ONE of us out! Am I just chopped liver or what!_

"Oh well, maybe another day," said Naruto, turning, undeterred, and marching down to bug the Uchiha prick.

A few seconds later, the first bell sounded. Ino put away the comb and reached back, shaking Sakura's head softly. Sakura reacted as usual: she took control of their entire body for a second and stretched their muscles, to then use their hands to handle about her head and stretch her neck. Ino waited patiently for her sister to finish waking up, next took control of their arms and put them on their lap while Sakura migrated her head from their back and onto their right shoulder. Almost unconsciously, Ino widened their torso a half neck-width and migrated her head slightly to the left, allowing her sister's head to migrate to her right. Finally feeling Sakura's ear against her own Ino leaned her right cheek into Sakura's left and brought her hand, their left hand, to her sister's right cheek and gave it a light caress.

Sakura leaned into her cheek and returned the little gesture with her own hand, their right hand.

They stayed like that another heartbeat, to then let go of what passed by them as a good morning greeting. Of course they could have separated their heads a bit further and kissed each other's cheek, but why? Didn't people hug so they could feel closer to one another? Mum and Dad said it all the time: "Actions speak louder than words." What would it mean for them to give each other a little kiss or a little hug, if they could rather just feel the love?

They brought down their hands, but kept their cheeks together. They then grew their torso sideways, just a neck-width wider, letting the distance break their contact as if against their wishes.

"Slept well, sis?" murmured Ino, turning her head a little inward but still keeping her eyes in the room below. Distraction never pays in Ninja Academy, and her sis still was somewhat sleepy.

"Wonderfully, Ino." Sakura said, turning in too, leaning her forehead into Ino's and, as if proving Ino's previous thought, closing her eyes again. "Thanks for the extra hour."

"Anytime, sis," said Ino, breathing out a little sigh, picking up Sakura's Alice band from their desk and slipping it into her sister's hair. "Just wish Naruto would stop asking you out alone, though."

Her sister opened her eyes again, her face going into a little frown.

"Hasn't figured it out yet." Sakura said, dryly.

"I'm just about ready to go there and explain it to him," Ino said, mirroring Sakura's frown. "But Daddy was very specific…"

"_No matter which boy ever asks you out, you have to refuse if he isn't asking both of you out,"_ they both droned out.

Naruto had been the only boy to ever ask them out, but they had to refuse: he had never asked them both out.

Although, technically, he had asked them both out, repeatedly: the problem was, he would never ask them both out _simultaneously:_ one week he would be asking Ino out, the next he would be asking Sakura out. They would swear he had a calendar or something, telling him which of the two of them to ask any given week.

But Mum and Granny had been very clear with them: '_Wait until your potential boyfriend figures it out, lest he should think about dating you both for just one of you. Neither of you deserves to have that done to you.' _So they kept waiting, frustrated, until the day their only admirer grew a brain.

"Mum's right," said Sakura. "Boys are clueless."

"If we end up as his girlfriend…"

"…I think we'll need to be the mature ones in the relationship."

Iruka-sensei chose that moment to walk into the classroom, so the class settled down.

* * *

Walking a step behind the Uchiha prick, and ignoring him all the way, Sakura entered her homeroom and headed to her seat at the row of the unpopular. Not surprisingly, there was Aburame Shino, who might have as well been a bug-infested mannequin; there was Hinata Hyuuga, who seemed to be trying to turn invisible; and there was Sai, who just looked bored and was likely thinking new ways to prove to the world just how much of a potty-mouthed arsehole he was.

Taking a look at the clock, she saw she still had ten minutes before the first bell. Feeling happy for having the time, she pulled a comb from her book-bag and gave a few strokes to her wild mane, pooling it over her right shoulder. Then she reached a little further back and began combing Ino's blonde ponytail over her left shoulder. She hummed a little as she started, just doing a little loving thing for her sis.

Just _another _little thing she gladly did for her sis: today it had been Ino's turn to sleep in, so she had done their entire morning routine. Six months ago she had been resigned to become the girlfriend of Uchiha Sasuke, even if Ino had been the only one of the two of them to ever get googly-eyed over the stupid prick. Two days from now, like any Monday or Thursday, it would be Ino's turn to dress them both in whatever she wanted.

Glancing at the blond hair in her hands, she frowned a bit. Just what was wrong with Ino, anyway? Sakura considered herself well centred and knew that, as an active kunoichi of the Leaf, they would be expected to dress just like Ino insists on doing: sombre colours, no frills… the works. But come on, they were an eleven-year-old girl, not an old maid: they could dress in cute clothes whenever they knew there would be no Taijutsu practice, just like today she had put on this beautiful baby-blue bell dress with pink bows, lacy trimming and a petticoat! She knew Ino would likely make fun of her and hyperventilate as soon as she woke up, but that was Ino's fault for not being a normal girl.

Not that any other girl in the class would seem to take example. Was she the only girly girl in the Academy?

But then again, at certain times she would prefer to be the one asleep, like whenever Naruto would come up, such as now…

"Morning, Sakura! Ino's asleep? Well, you wanna grab some ice cream with me after school?"

"No Naruto, _I_ don't want to go out with you." _This insensitive jerk! Is Ino just a wart in my shoulder or what!_

* * *

Five minutes later, Sakura and Ino Soma were beginning class. Not before Ino had applied a little Genjutsu on he own head, though. A couple of E-ranked Genjutsu strung together: one that made her hair turn pink, another that blurred her face at a distance, so Sakura would look at her normally, but just two meters away she would be unrecognisable.

Ino had no need to antagonize the person who controlled half of her body most of the time, but she had even less need to let people think she liked looking like a marshmallow.

* * *

Ring Ring…

Ring Ring…

Ring Ring…

Ring *click*

Having killed the alarm, Ino pulled her arm back into the warm recesses of her bedroll.

How much she wished she could have five more minutes… but duty awaited no kunoichi.

Pulling her head to the left, she carefully separated her right cheek from her sister's left, as, per usual, they had become glued by dried drool. Then, turning her head to the right, she gazed at her sister: a nimbus of pink partially hiding her face as her currently twisted lips drooled on their pillow. Ino knew better than to think it funny, though: teasing her twin was all right, but it is never a good day to start outright bullying half of yourself.

Not bothering to wake up her right head… yet, Ino took control of Sakura's side and slowly rose from bed. She looked down at herself and sighed: a pale pink pyjama with unicorn prints was just the way to end a Sakura day. She quickly stripped bare and, putting on a bathrobe, headed to the bathroom.

After flushing down the morning emissions, washing her hands and pining up her and her sister's mops of hair, she began filling the bathtub for the day. From its warm water she filled two bathing buckets and carried them to the bathing area. There, she sat on a stool and prepared to wake up Sakura: with her own hand (their left) she picked up a washcloth and, after soaking it on the warm water of the buckets, brought it to her sister's cheek.

Ino loved the sensation of goose bumps that ran down Sakura's side as the washcloth dribbled warm water down their front; loved it almost as much as the pleased moan that came out of Sakura's throat. She moved the washcloth around her sister's face, and once her eyes were open and focussed, moved it down to her shoulder. Sakura brought her arm, their right, across their body and put her hand on Ino's shoulder, completing their hug.

They had to let go of their hug quite soon, though, as the bathtub began overflowing. They jumped and closed the water, then returned to their stool, the moment lost. Nonetheless, Sakura picked up the dropped washcloth; Ino picked up a fresh one and, each producing a second arm from her armpit and picking up bars of soap, began to lovingly wash each other.

* * *

Ten minutes later, having properly washed and rinsed and spent a few minutes soaking in the hot bathtub, they were back in their room and had already towelled dry. They were currently standing naked in front of their closet and staring at their biggest recurring headache to date: agreeing to wear something.

Sakura would take a step to the right side of the closet and pull out a dress.

"Why don't we wear this one?"

Ino would sigh and put it back.

"'Cause it looks like a cherry cake! Ninja are supposed to blend with nature."

"Well, why not this other one?" said Sakura, stepping minutely to the left and pulling out a dark brown one.

"'Cause I don't want us to ruin one of your most sensible dresses on Taijutsu practice today," Ino said, while she put the chocolate cake dress back in the closet. Then she blinked. "Come to think about it, lets wear your cherry cake dress!" she called, happily pulling the previous saccharine monstrosity and pressing it on their body.

"No way we're using it then!" Sakura said, ripping it off from Ino's hand, pushing it back into the closet and stepping two paces to the left, toward Ino's side of the wardrobe. "Why don't we try to ruin one of YOUR dresses?"

"Sure, lets try!" said Ino giddily, grinning at her sister as she borrowed her sister's hand and pulled out a set of full body bandages and a navy-blue combo of light blouse and miniskirt. "I like proper ninja apparel, so we would need to actually try to damage it beyond repair."

Sakura huffed at that.

"No way we are wearing your clothes today!" said Sakura, taking control of both their arms and putting the clothes back in the wardrobe, then crossing their arms. "It's Wednesday: we're supposed to agree to wear something!"

"Can't the two of you agree to wear the clothes I picked for you yesterday?" came a muffled voice from the door. "And by the way, morning Kushi-dear!"

"Morning, Mum" they replied automatically. Derailed from their discussion, they shared a look, sighed and pulled the garment bag from the very middle of their wardrobe. Inside it they found a purple pinafore dress, black biker shorts, a mesh undershirt, studded leather gaiters and bracers and two sets of leg warmers, one to cover their gaiters, one for their bracers.

Sharing another look, they nodded and silently began dressing.

Mum had won the battle.

Again.

Fifteen minutes later, they were entering their homeroom at the academy. Naruto spotted them instantly and homed on them, stopping them in front of the blackboard.

"Morning, girls! You both awake today? Well, Sakura, want to go out today?"

'_I can't stand this any longer! Either I prod him, or I'll explode!' _Sakura thought at her sister.

'_Well… be as indirect as possible. Don't want Mum or Dad to think we told him.' _

Taking a deep breath, Sakura addressed Naruto.

"Naruto; before I tell you no, I just wanted to ask you something: why on Earth do you keep asking us out separately?"

"Well…" Naruto started, scratching the back of his head in a nervous gesture. "Well, I asked Mizuki-sensei a few months back, and he told me that it would be very bad if I asked two girls. I would need to only ask one girl, so that's what I been doing."

The sisters shared a look.

'_He's so clueless, but he's been trying to be nice! Please, sis: we have to enlighten him!' _Ino pled at her sister.

Sakura sighed and gave a nearly invisible nod to Ino before turning back to Naruto.

"Naruto," said Sakura, stepping forward and putting her hand on his shoulder. "That's sweet, but we need you to understand that asking half of a girl is no better than asking two."

"But, you two…" he said, stammering to a halt. His expression turned to flabbergasted as he began to point his finger at each of their heads in turn.

Ino caught his hand on her own, then stepped forward and, surprising even herself, planted a kiss on his right cheek. Her sister followed a heartbeat later and, both blushing up a storm, they ran out of their classroom and hid inside the bathroom until the first bell flushed them back to their classroom.

* * *

With their teachers having announced a field day for Friday, the girls, as per previous agreement, had a Sakura day on Thursday. Thus it was Sakura who Naruto greeted on their desk, five minutes before the first bell.

"Morning, Sakura!" he said with his usual exuberance. Then he seemed to tune down his enthusiasm, as he began scratching the floor with his foot. "Ino not awake yet? Well, I thought of what you said yesterday, so I went and talked with Iruka-sensei about things."

"Keep going" she said, crossing her arms and eyeing him like an annoying bug.

"Well, I thought about stuff… and Iruka-sensei said… ah… eh…" He stammered. He then blurted. "So… Can I take you two out for ice-cream after school?"

"Well, that was sure nicer than usual, Naruto," she said, giving him a nice smile. "But still, asking my sister out through me is still not a very nice thing to do."

"Thanks for telling me, then," he said, giving her a little bow. "Should I ask again during lunch break?"

"You do that."

Once Naruto had walked down the stairs to bug the Uchiha again, Sakura sat down on her desk and, without waking up her sister, migrated her sister's head up to its normal place on their shoulders. She then lied down their heads on their desk and, covered by their arms, began to alternatively tense and relax her sister's neck muscles.

As soon as her sister began stirring, she clamped down her control on their whole body and kept them immobile. While her sister didn't struggle, this action made her wake up real fast, as Sakura could feel how their left heart had jumped in rhythm. Outwardly, she continued looking asleep, but inwardly she felt how her sister flexed her mental muscles. Sakura opened her end of their channel and greeted her.

'_Morning, Shi.'_

'_Morning, Ku. Did Daddy arrange for another kidnapping exercise?'_

'_Not at all! We are at the Academy, at our normal desk.'_

'_Then what's up with using "Secret wake-up"? What's the mystery?'_

'_Surprise of surprises, Ino: Naruto asked both of us out!'_

Her sister tried to bolt up, but Sakura kept them seated and still. A few seconds later, after her sister had stopped pumping adrenaline into their bloodstream, she gave her the slightest nod and Sakura relaxed their muscles.

'_Well, you did say yes, right, Ku?'_

'_Of course not, Ino! He was a jerk and asked me for you while you were still asleep!'_

'_Well, that's still a mighty improvement, coming from him,' thought Ino. 'He asks again, you say I said yes!'_

'_He said he'll ask again during lunch break. We both say yes then.'_

'_Well, that's even better. Thanks Ku!'_

'_Anytime, Shi; anytime.'_

* * *

As soon as their lunch break began, Sakura and Ino watched how their hopeful boyfriend jumped out the window, caught himself on the tree outside and quickly slipped down the three stories to the ground, where he took off like catapulted toward the cafeteria, cutting across the training fields. The girls looked at each other and sighed: while it was his normal routine, they had hoped he would remember he was supposed to be asking them out today.

Nothing to it, though. They sighed again and walked out the room and toward the roof, where they usually ate their lunch alone.

As per usual, the rooftop was empty. Funny, considering that it had a bunch of not-too-uncomfortable stone benches.

True to their routine, they straddled the nearest bench and produced the storage seal in which Mum usually packed their lunch. Their bento appeared on their hands; they opened it and saw how their Mum had packed it with twice as much food as they would eat, just like they had asked her yesterday.

They sighed, as the extra food would go to waste. Nothing to it, though, so they picked up two of the three sets of chopsticks included with the bento and began to slowly eat it.

It was to their surprise when Naruto appeared not three minutes later, carrying three cups of ramen and a foolish grin.

"Morning, Ino! Hi again, Sakura," he said.

"Hi, Naruto," they chorused, smiling back at him and unconsciously adjusting their dress.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked, waving with his chin at the free bench space in front of them.

"Suit yourself," opened Sakura, waving invitingly at the space.

"The bench is hard, but the sun has warmed it up nicely," closed Ino, dabbing a napkin at the corners of her mouth, then her sister's mouth.

"Thanks," he said, placing down the ramen and straddling the bench like them. He then was blunt as normal: "So, can I take you for some ice cream after school, girls? Both of you, of course!" he said, making the last part sound as an afterthought.

The girls shared a look, nodding at each other, before they looked at him again. They extended their hands at him, and when he caught them they clasped his hands and addressed him together.

"Kushi," they said.

He blinked.

"Call us 'Kushi' when you want to refer to both of us," opened Sakura.

"But just don't go telling that name around, alright," continued Ino. "Only our family and best friends can know of that one."

He nodded cheerily.

"So, Kushi…" he said, like tasting the word.

"Yes, Na-kun?" they chorused, letting out a giggle at his grin at his new nickname.

"Wanna have an ice cream after school, Kushi-chan?" he asked, smiling like a sun.

"After the half-day school on Saturday?" Ino asked, clasping his hand harder.

He blinked, but then he smiled again and nodded.

But then his expression turned puzzled.

"But what of today, then?" he asked.

"Today you can walk us home, of course," said Sakura, as if the thought was the most natural thing in the world.

"Alright!" he exclaimed, taking advantage of them unconsciously letting go by jumping off the bench and beginning a little silly dance on the rooftop.

They giggled at his antics a bit, but then felt their stomach groan. They looked at each other, then down at their lunches. How much of the lunch break was left, anyway?

"Hey Naruto!" they called.

"Yes, what's up?" he asked, stopping his dance.

"We need to eat our lunches," Ino opened.

"Break's almost over," Sakura closed, doing a wristwatch gesture with her hand over Ino's naked wrist.

"Oh crap!" he swore, jumping back to his place. The he picked up two of the ramen cups and extended them at them.

"Iruka-sensei said it would be nice if I offered you some food," he said, as he understood their mildly surprised expressions as they accepted the noodles.

"Iruka-sensei is a good teacher, then," Sakura opened, as the twins began rapidly growing a second set of arms out of their armpits.

"…For now we can trade some of our lunch with you, too." Ino closed, just as their second set of arms reached down and pushed their bento box a little forward on the bench. "Mum always packs too much food for us," she continued, covering her mouth with her ramen cup so he wouldn't notice she had lied through the teeth.

"Alright!" he said, pulling the paper cover off his ramen cup and beginning to slurp.

As they slurped up their own, they continued sharing happy looks: they were eating four-armed, and he wasn't even making a comment!

Four minutes later, they didn't hear the first bell. They heard the second, made it late to their next class and had to carry buckets for an hour, but it was worth it.

Naruto was their boyfriend!

* * *

Six months went by…

* * *

Sipping a delicious coffee, Sarutobi Hiruzen greeted the rising sun. The sunrise was surely spectacular here, seen from the small bedchamber sitting behind his office at the Hokage tower. He wouldn't normally sleep here, but he still made a point to spend an odd night every once in a while so he could rise to this sight.

'_Not that I hadn't wanted to wake up at home today,' _he thought inwardly. '_Not at all. I am an exemplar to my village, thus the candy stores of The Leaf don't report whenever Asuma buys more than a handful of chocolates, thus I don't know when Konohamaru will have an early morning sugar high. No, I just enjoy the sunrise fro__m atop the tower'._

Stepping into his office, he opened the window and was greeted by a strange sight. Watching Naruto running over the roofs of The Leaf wasn't strange at all: the High Road was the expected mode of travel for any ninja not out for a leisurely stroll on the surface, and Naruto was only unique on discovering the High Road while still being an Academy student. Today's sight was unique, though: rather than wearing his typical orange jacket over orange pants, he was wearing a _baby blue_ _pinafore dress_ over an orange t-shirt and orange pants, had two distinctively female heads riding along on his shoulders, and his jumps and landings were being accompanied by stereophonic and very girlish squeals and giggles.

Once he actually recovered from the surprise, he leaned forward on the railing and watched them bounce until they were out of sight.

'_O…okay, I just saw Minato's son acting like a long-time boyfriend to the Soma heirs and introducing them to the High Road. Furthermore, I saw crystal-clear evidence that they trust him enough to use their Bone-Deep Hug Jutsu on him. That should be therapeutic for them and the village: the girls get a boyfriend that would move heaven and earth for them; he gets a cuddly girlfriend, and the village 'enjoys' less pranks by the simple virtue of him being busy with his girlfriend.'_

Hiruzen expelled a happy sigh.

'_Minato would be so happy to see this: it's like turning the clock back fifteen years, when he would reap all sorts of mayhem whenever he got bored, then Kushina managed to bring him under control. I guess the cycle of life comes full circle once again.'_

But suddenly, Hiruzen's image was shattered as a very frightening image crossed his mind: a legion of double headed mini-Minatos, half of them with long hair and skirts, were Yellow-Flashing all over The Leaf, using Body Possession as pranks, juggling Rasengans and proclaiming they would be the next Hokage.

'_I'll thank the Kami if I'm lucky enough to be dead by the time that comes into being. If I'm already too old to deal with Konohamaru on a sugar high, then I wasn't born young enough to deal with Minato's likely grandchildren._'

He looked down to the cup of coffee he was holding, to then pour it over the railing and turn back into the bedchamber.

'_And I think The Leaf could survive if its Hokage sleeps in on Sunday. Let the bureaucrats downstairs do their job for once.'_

But then, after tucking back into his bed, he took a notepad from his bedside table:

**Coming Genin graduation:**

***Make sure that Naruto Uzumaki and Ino/Sakura Soma end up in the same Genin squad. Might be a Commando, Sabotage, Escort or Generalist squad, depending on suitability of third teammate. **

***Put Kurenai as their squad leader. She's well overdue to lead one. **

***The squad should test for Demolition or Hunt/Capture after making Chuunin. **

***Find a third teammate whom the girls might be willing to Hug. Double check the Hyuuga girl: that should make Hiashi mad as hell. **

***If the Nara kid turns out to be the most suitable, they should be trained as an Intel squad instead. And Asuma would be their leader.**

Not believing he was missing anything, Hiruzen pulled the sheet from the notepad, folded it into an origami star and, infusing it with a little chakra, stuck it into the wood of the door across the chamber.

'_Origami Shuriken, indeed. Don't know where you get half of your ideas, Jiraiya.'_

But then, thinking into the pillow, Hiruzen thought about the situation. Once again, he was setting a set of lovers to go together to do battle. After all, a general of yore had very well said 'Send buddies to the battlefield together and they'll fight like scared dogs to protect the village; send lovers to the battlefield and they'll fight like lions just to keep covering each others backs'. While he could expect a 5% higher mission abortion rate than other villages, mainly due to team-mates aborting upon one becoming incapacitated, he could also boast that, in his village, ninja survival odds to retirement were a coin toss, while on some other villages, like Rock, survival to retirement was nearly non-existent.

'_Well, nearly non-existent even before they provoked the last war against The Leaf. Minato really did a number on them.'_

The Hokage chuckled a bit, before turning over and activating the light sleep seal embroiled on the pillow.

'_And I'm not asking Jiraiya why he learned to infuse chakra into his tongue.'_

**

* * *

**

I genuflect toward 'Mirror and Image,'

**'Kinetic Sleeper'**** and 'Alternative Angel' for their services as editors.**

I also recommend the fic "Team Time" by Mirror and Image: it has been the very first High-School fic I have ever been capable of stomaching. Maybe because it has been the very first such fic I have yet to see being written with the head, rather than employing diverse body parts?

_I liked it quite a bit, too. _

**Author's Note 2:**

Yeah, I made Ino and Sakura into identical twins. The conjoined daughters of Sakon and Ukon, to be more precise.

The girls and the people around them mix singular and plural all the time. Likewise, they say 'Daddy' or 'Dad' when referring collectively to Sakon and Ukon, their two fathers. The girls are used to thinking of themselves as one, and while they do use second person while communicating between each other (_'You want to go out with him, so you tell him yes! Why you want to go out with him, anyway?'_) and their' separate thoughts can come out in plural (_'The nerve of Naruto! Asking ONE of us out! Am I just chopped liver or what!'_), they still think of themselves as a single, indivisible entity (_'If we end up as his girlfriend, I think we'll need to be the mature ones in the relationship.'_).

I reduced the identities' psychology of the girls to 'Two votes, one action', meaning the two may think separate thoughts, but in the end they don't even conceptualize themselves as individuals, but as two parts of a duality.

It's all about conditioning: the two girls have been conditioned since birth to think that, when it counts, they are a two-headed girl. Not unlike Mexicans discriminating against Mexican products and services; Canadians thinking that 4 o'clock sunset is normal; Dominicans being overwhelmingly black, yet discriminating against black candidates at the ballots; Americans being shocked at being one of the most dangerous countries around the world when concerned with gun-related crime, when they have gun-related laws that look like jaywalking compared to any other sensible country; or Cubans being completely polarized between Fidel-lovers and Fidel-haters.

Say, like any country that allows businesses to fund politicians' campaigns, then wonders why corruption is rampant.

But I'm digressing…

And even if all of my previous explanation was taken as a load of bull, a friend who read my preliminary notes over my shoulder mentioned that the plural/singular mindset could simply be explained by the Japanese concept of Wa: "The Group Is More Important Than The Individual". City-dwelling Japanese are pretty much drones catering to school-hives and industry-hives, so there's nothing weird about two Japanese conjoined twins pretty much thinking of themselves as a two-headed person rather than two persons in one body.

I don't agree with this other explanation and it annoys me, considering it over-simplified, but I'm far too much of a scientist to discard a working explanation just because it's false on this particular instance: it could be the right explanation in the next instance.

Shoot the rationalist.

**Author's Note 3:**

The Chuunin Exams are in eighteen months' time, not six months.

Same exams, mostly the same events, same Sand/Sound invasion: just a year later. I need more than half a dozen months for the Genin to actually be effective, without feeling that Kurenai is being reckless in entering them. Plenty of training, plenty of D-ranks and at least a handful of C-Ranks. Besides, I'm already not giving them the Wave fiasco: our fellow author Lord Of The Land Of Fire has already been kind enough to allow me to use his 'festival security' mission (featured on his stories 'A Different Path' and 'The Flashing Dagger Technique'.)

**Author's Note 4:**

In future chapters, there will be some frank conversation about male and female body, and at least one extended, if not fully blown, session of Systematic Body Desensitization, consisting on making the team capable of fighting even when naked. Such training is an important, if subtle part of all medicine and military programs (Co-ed Army and Navy showers, anyone? Medical interns catheterizing each other inside crowded labs? Making sure it is a female intern the one to apply a surgical shave? Getting boys to deliver babies until they completely desexualise the sight of a vulva?), and I believe it would be a serious weakness for any of them to start covering themselves if their clothing gets torn during combat, or prove to be weak to nudity, sexual allure or seduction in just such a situation.

But make no mistake: I'll write some nudity in proper situations, but I definitely do not like, endorse, condone or think well of any form of child pornography or child molestation (one of the reasons why I don't like Sailor Moon's boyfriend). Get your heads out of the gutter: historical kunoichi (like any other historical female spy) would usually be whores passing on what they heard on pillow talk, but I'm just not going to explore that particular aspect.

'Sides, I don't believe for a second that clothing can be reduced to shreds and ribbons and still be fully covering. And if Naruto (or one of the girls wearing pants) were ever caught by enemies while squatting in the bush, I don't want them to fumble with their pants if the safer option ever was to just cut through the middle and start running. I already wrote just such a scene during a blizzard, and it would be just sad if I wrote off the only bits of Jackie Chan-like comic relief out of one very miserable mission.

**Author's Note 5:**

The girls hugged Naruto, then went inside his skin.

They are the daughters of Sakon and Ukon.

I can certainly imagine ways to use their bloodline outside of offence, while keeping my head outside the gutter.

'nough said on the matter.

Furthermore, I already had enough trouble keeping their Wednesday morning bath scene from seeming incestuous. Ever heard the expression "If those two were any closer, they would be wearing the same clothes"? Well, these two girls do wear the same clothes day in and day out. They wear the same skin, too.

**Author's Note 6:**

A cultural note: the Japanese consider that eating ramen takes all five senses, and consider it necessary to slurp loudly, as it is the way on which they involve their hearing into eating the noodles. Furthermore, it is my experience that if you eat them by slurping, you can eat them a lot hotter than you normally could. Who knows, but my theory is that by slurping you can cool them real fast just as they would enter your mouth. Hearing the slurping sound still stirs wrong my guts, so I don't do that unless I'm alone and eating in a hurry.

Take care.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pre-note:** I'm actually quite sorry about the delay. **This chapter was ready to publish more than a year ago**, but I was dithering over a few lines that I didn't think tasted right… and then the flash drive became corrupted, which may have happened weeks before I noticed, because by the time I noticed, my routine of weekly backups had destroyed the files inside my backup drive, and my most recent optical backups were from a year further back!

And if things weren't bad enough, I was just about to embark on a nine-month contract with a cruise line, and I don't own a laptop.

Anyway, I had to rewrite almost from scratch, on borrowed laptops.

Hope you enjoy, people.

(For disclaimer, please visit the first chapter)

* * *

**Chapter 2: Team Assignment**

Graduation day: the day when Academy students could become Genin. It should have been a day of rejoicing but, for Ino and Sakura Soma, the elation of graduating had turned into worry when they heard that their boyfriend Naruto would be special tested through a mock mission. Their worry turned into utter dread, though, as, when they made it home, nobody knew of any 'special' or 'remedial' tests, they were milked for whatever they knew about this 'mock mission', and then Granny Soma, Grandpa Yamanaka, uncle Inoichi and Daddy took off like rockets after commenting they had to prevent Naruto from becoming a traitor.

His so called 'test' had been to penetrate the Hokage tower, steal a highly restricted scroll, exit the village undetected, wait for Mizuki-sensei at a cabin at the Northern Wall and learn a Jutsu from the scroll, on which he would be tested at midnight.

Their celebratory dinner thus turned into a tense, sombre affair, with the sight of food making them ill, Mum, Aunty and their siblings and cousins keeping silence, and their eyes straying constantly toward the name of Naruto along their own in the celebratory banner.

Today they would have presented Naruto to the family.

They had asked their Mum if they could invite Naruto as soon as they found out he didn't have anything planned for a celebration.

Mum told to go to bed early, promising them that their Dad would visit their room as soon as he returned with news.

Several eternal hours later, an hour past midnight or so, a knock came from their door. They bolted at it, opening it and finding U-daddy there. He didn't even let them get a word out: with the speed of a tackle, he knelt down in front of them, insinuated his head between their necks and brought his arms around their body. Getting into their part by pure muscle memory, they let his head pass between theirs, pressed their necks around his and brought their arms and legs around his body just a heartbeat before he had picked them up, had closed their door and was carrying them into their room, to come to sit on their bed.

Beginning to rub their backs, he spoke the most beautiful words they had ever heard:

"Naruto's okay. He did go all the way through his so-called mission, but we got the traitor to speak in front of a Truth Teller and the Hokage was impressed enough to name Naruto a Genin."

Stunned as they were, the message didn't quite register, but after a few seconds, the meanings began filtering into their minds: Naruto was safe! Naruto had passed! He had even impressed the Hokage!

Before they even knew it, they were crying into their father's shoulders. They had forgotten all the pretences about having become an adult by becoming Genin today: they wailed like little girls as their Daddy rocked them in his arms. They continued until all the tension of the day overcame them and their Daddy's motion finally lulled them into sleep.

-O-o-O-o-O-

Ring Ring…

Ring Ring…

Ring *click*

Pulling back both of their hands, Ino and Sakura glanced at each other.

"Naruto," they both muttered.

Distractedly ungluing their cheeks, they scrambled out of their futon and bolted to the bathroom. Five minutes later, they were dressed (an indigo full body bandage from Ino's under a fuchsia top and skirt combo from Sakura's, their forehead protector worn as a belt and not even a pip of discussion), had choked-down their breakfast, had been handed a Sealed bento by their completely unsurprised mother and were running down the street with buttered bread on their mouths and their hearts still on their throats.

Exactly nine minutes after their alarm clock woke them up; they began pacing in front of the still-closed gates of the Academy. Ino was cussing up a storm, wondering why they had never wondered where Naruto lived; Sakura was just letting Ino pace and rave, with her sister's cathartic exercise letting her not think.

-O-o-O-o-O-

Being his turn to open the Academy, Iruka found the Soma twins at the Academy gates, sitting there subdued and looking pretty desolate. He wasn't surprised to find them there, considering what had happened with Naruto.

Breaking from his usually impeccable protocol he knelt in front of them and hugged them into his chest.

After holding them there for a few seconds he slackened his arms and spoke into their scalps.

"You know what happened yesterday, right?"

They nodded into his chest.

"You know he's okay, right?"

They nodded again.

"You know he passed; that he'll be here?"

Once again, they nodded.

He made a guess: "You don't know where he lives."

He felt how their faces heated up, then felt them shake their heads.

As he pressed them harder against his chest, he couldn't help but chuckle. He kissed the top of their heads and continued. "So you want to see him as soon as he appears here, right?"

They nodded.

"Well, staying out here won't do you any good. Let's head to our homeroom."

After opening the gates and doors, he pulled them to their feet and into the academy, then shooed them into what still was their classroom.

"Is the last day, so I won't mind if he sits with you."

He earned two beautiful smiles. He smiled back as he left them alone. He then headed to the teacher's lounge, where he waited the customary five minutes until the civilian superintendent came and relieved him from the master key-ring.

His gate-opening duties over for today, he opened his files and began tracking Naruto's school trajectory. Now knowing that Mizuki had been wilfully sabotaging Naruto, he tried to find discrepancies or simply whatever signs of ruination that he could detect.

He couldn't find anything obvious, but now being suspicious, Iruka begun finding a pattern, first in Mizuki's, then in other teachers' grading: ever since Naruto had entered the Academy, his new teachers would fail him miserably, to then start passing him just above the point of remedial classes from the second month onward. Was somebody at the Academy telling the teachers not to fail him?

But, why would somebody want him to be underprepared? Did they simply wanted him out of the Academy's hair, or were they actually aiming toward making him easier to kill by enemy ninja?

And not to forget what a gem, what a potential genius was Naruto: after four years learning ninjutsu from Mizuki, he was mediocre in the Academy-taught D-rank ninjutsu; on the other hand, he had less than four hours alone with the famous Forbidden Scroll and he had taught himself an A-rank. Had Mizuki ever bothered to try and teach the boy?

Iruka would have continued reflecting some more, but he was brought out of his reverie by the first bell. He quickly put all the papers back in place and exited the teachers' lounge, to then make it back to his room just a hearth bit before the second bell.

First thing he noticed as he made it back to his classroom, he noted how the atmosphere of the room felt different: it felt festive, just like it had felt every last day of classes these past four years, but it also had an undercurrent of dread. He guessed some of his kids were beginning to understand: they were no longer Academy students (although some sixty percent of them would be back shortly), thus would leave the near absolute safety of being civilians and would enter the dangerous life of the ninja.

Next thing he noticed was the lack of a certain orange eyesore in the front row: the girls had apparently booted Sai to sit between Sasuke and Kiba in the front row, so Naruto could sit between them and Hinata. How ironic: a single seat switch and now two teams were sitting together without even knowing it. He noted that switching Shino and Aoi would achieve the same effect. He idly wondered if it would matter shuffling the kids around so they could all be sitting with their new teammates, then decided to do just that: not like today's planning said anything but 'have them fill their registration forms', 'take their index photographs' and 'assign teams'.

As he began to call pairs of students and shuffle them around the room, he scanned their general appearance as for the coming photos: so far, every student (but Ino/Sakura) was wearing their forehead protectors on their heads, just as protocol dictates. Once they were properly Genin, they would need to show up for formal functions wearing fatigues, but untested Genin had no more uniform than their forehead protectors, and at that protocol only excused Ino and Sakura because they had only been assigned one forehead protector for their two heads.

Once he had finishing moving the students around, he passed forward the forms that they would be required to fill up. Some twenty minutes later, on time, the photographer came in and Iruka began calling the students one by one to be photographed, to then let them return to their desks and finish filling up their information.

About forty minutes after the photographer came in, he left, and Iruka picked up the filled forms. He then began calling up the teams.

…

"Team Seven will be composed of: Sai Matsuhiro, Sasuke Uchiha and Kiba Inuzuka" he said.

After six teams, everybody already knew that their current sitting assignment reflected their team assignments, so he wasn't disappointed that he only heard minimal grumbling from the various girls who hadn't been assigned along with the little jerk Uchiha. Meanwhile, that Sai kid had apparently opened his mouth and immediately made his two teammates bristle. Silently he wondered who had appointed a team composed of the two most irascible kids of this generation along with the crop's most irritant kid, but it wasn't his problem anymore. He had personally written on Sai's file that he didn't believe that such a bad team-player was fit for service, but he had been overruled. Furthermore, he just couldn't stand the Uchiha. The only one he was sorry for was Kiba, but in the end he hoped for Kiba's sake that they wouldn't be passed tomorrow.

He continued, noting to his satisfaction that it had come to the team that he considered a match made by the gods.

"Team Eight will be composed of: Ino and Sakura Soma, Hinata Hyuuga and Naruto Uzumaki."

The newly minted team smiled at each others, even if Hinata did so trying to hide behind her fringes. Iruka hoped that the three ugly ducklings from this generation could be beneficial to each other; especially so concerning Naruto, the Container that he had grown to like so much. He really hoped these three could pass tomorrow's test.

Here came one of the teams that Iruka had a personal interest on: "Team Nine will be composed of: Kuno Kurama, Keichi Kedoin and Keitaro Tsuchigumo".

These three eyed each other and nodded. Iruka knew that everything was already prearranged for his three 'little cousins': they were assigned on a single team, then they would fail tomorrow, drop out as ninjas and, over the next week, find apprentice level jobs in various 'external' ANBU-front companies.

And finally, the generation's last team:

"The final team, Team Ten, will be composed of: Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akamichi."

Another no-surprise team: the Aburame clan was largely regarded as the best clan for combining attacks with the Akamichi and could make the Nara exercise their intellects without stopping and getting too comfortable not exercising their bodies. Then the Akamichi could also be greatly helped by the Nara's various shadow techniques, and the Nara was benefited by having an Akamichi to shield him from the worst of heavy combat. Iruka only hoped that they would be as good a team as their parents had been.

His duties done, he let his eyes roam over the new Genin one last time. He had done all he could for them; now what would matter would be them surviving to create a new generation in the future.

"Well, people," he said. "It has been a pleasure being your teacher these last few years. I wish you all the best, now that you hereby count as Genin of the Leaf. Now you can go to your lunch break. Make good of it, getting together with your fellow team members. Once you're back from the break, your team leaders will be here to pick you."

After having said that, he broke a smoke pellet and took his leave.

-O-o-O-o-O-

When Iruka broke his smoke pellet, Hinata instinctively activated her eyes and began following his progress as he crawled through the passage behind the blackboard. Her eyes then began roaming around the classroom, lingering on each of the six adults that were hidden on the walls and roof. Would one of them be her jounin supervisor? And would she pass tomorrow's secret test, or would she be returned to the Academy as her father was predicting?

Her thoughts couldn't continue, as Naruto's girlfriend(s) had now just turned to look at her.

"So, Hinata Hyuuga," opened Ino, the blond head.

"Our new teammate," continued the pink one, Sakura.

"Would you like going round the yard with us?" closed Ino.

Hinata nodded quickly, then followed after them and Naruto when they stood up and made their way to the roof. Her feet guided her to her usual stalking spot just inside the last landing, but she then quickly rectified: today she was included, after all.

The twins didn't go to the benches, though: they turned around the stairwell's shed, toward a lone out-of-sight bench sitting there. They nodded her to sit down, but then gave Naruto kisses on his cheeks and waved him toward the first of the other benches, which was well out of hearing from Hinata's current position. Then the twins straddled the bench by her (and she scrambled to do so as well) and, leaning forward as in examination of her every twitch, began speaking.

"Hinata Hyuuga," opened Ino again.

"We have wanted to have a word with you since like forever," continued Sakura.

"Considering that, even if the Soma bloodline isn't all that handy at chakra sensing…" said Ino.

"…We can, after getting it often enough, learn how it feels to be inside the field of a jutsu like the White Eyes…"

"…Which we tend to perceive whenever we are alone with Naruto…"

"…Or out on a date with him."

Then they finished together: "Would you know about that, Hinata?"

Looking down, Hinata nodded.

Sakura glowered, but Ino gave her a significant look, cooling her down. Huffing, Sakura looked elsewhere, letting Ino continue alone.

"Well, we were angry at you," she said, "and we had decided that we would do something bad to you if you ever gave us a reason. Thing is, you have never done so."

"Yeah," Sakura added, sighing and calming down.

"Anyway," continued Ino, "if we will have you as a teammate, we need to be able to trust you, and at the moment we can't really say that we do so."

"And the options before us are to either look at you closely for the next few months until we can trust you…" Sakura continued.

"…Or we can use a jutsu on you and have our answer in a minute," Ino finished.

"But, how…" said Hinata, nervous about what the one/two girls in front of her pretended to do.

"We'll use a Soma family jutsu on you," Ino opened. "It is called 'A look into the Soul', and it's designed to discern without any doubt where somebody stands on a given issue."

"Such as what do you think about us," Sakura continued, "and what do you think about Naruto."

"So," Hinata stammered out; "if you use this jutsu you'll be able to tell whether I like Naruto and you?"

"Yes," both twins said, nodding emphatically.

Fidgeting, Hinata looked up at them, then turned to look at an expectant looking Naruto, then turned back at the twins and bowed her head at them.

"I am in your hands. Just tell me what to do."

The twins smiled at her, then scooted forward and placed their hands on her shoulders.

"Thanks, Hinata Hyuuga," both twins said.

"Now you just relax and let us work the jutsu," Ino opened.

"…while you keep your mind on Naruto and on us," Sakura closed.

Then, the Soma twins scooted forward until their knees were pressed on hers, and Ino quite simply plunged her head into her forehead. Hinata stayed very still, paralyzed in terror by this most unexpected experience.

"Come on, Hinata, breathe!" came Sakura's voice on her left ear, while the hand on her left shoulder rubbed it a little. "If you faint while we are like this, Ino will be shoved deeply into your mind and may not find the way out until she's seen everything. Daddy says that isn't very nice."

Hinata began to cold sweat, just thinking about the twins finding out about her life at home, but understood and began to take deep breaths. But barely by her third one, Ino's head pulled out of her own and Hinata… watched the girl frowning.

"So, what's the score, sis?" said Sakura, nonplussed.

"Definitely okay," Ino said, as she reached at Hinata and pulled her into a one-armed hug, while Sakura's hand still rested on her left shoulder.

"Just a glimpse and I'm humbled. Matter of fact, she makes us look bad," said Ino, speaking around Hinata's head.

"What!" squawked Sakura from her other side, making Hinata flinch from the volume and the sudden squeeze on her shoulder.

"See for yourself, Sakura: it's right off the top of her mind," Ino said, pulling back gently.

"You got it!" said Sakura, in an affronted tone, as she too took a plunge inside Hinata's head.

While Sakura's neck protruded from her forehead, she immediately noticed how the twins' both arms had come down her back and were rubbing her gently, while Ino began to sob by her right ear.

Sakura pulled out carefully, and then the twins were hugging her fiercely. Both were rubbing their heads on her neck. She was nonplussed, holding her teammates while she wondered just what had they seen. She had only been thinking about Naruto and them… and had started thinking about life at home.

She panicked, guessing what they had seen.

"No!" she shrieked, as she tried to push them away, run away from those who had seen her shame. They didn't let her move a millimetre, though: they were holding fast, not letting her rip out of their embrace.

They were also murmuring into her ears many sweet… no, _horrible_ things that she _didn't _want to hear:

"We swear to you, we won't be telling anyone about your Dad!"

"Nobody, we swear it!"

"…But you can always come to us if you need a hug, alright."

"Or you can always spend the night in our home."

"Mum and Dad will be glad to have you over. Just knock and the door's open."

"Anytime you need to escape, Nata-chan! Our door is open."

When Hinata decided that she wouldn't be able to push them away, she tried pounding on their back, scratching at their back, pushing their chakra nodes; all to no effect.

But _why_ were her eyes shedding so many tears? _Why_ couldn't she control them?

_Why_ were Naruto's girlfriends now mumbling into her ears, rocking her body like this?

_Why_ wasn't she trying to escape anymore?

And _why_ was she _now_ holding onto them like her life depended on it, bawling into their middle shoulder like a baby?!

…

_Why_ was she now feeling so tired…?

-O-o-O-o-O-

Once the twins were sure that Hinata was sound asleep, they stopped rocking her and could spend a minute _really_ concentrating on healing themselves. With a quick thought, Sakura concentrated on healing the muscle pain from the blows, while Ino continued opening their last few plugged chakra nodes.

But _damn_ if Hinata wasn't strong!

A minute and nine winces later, they sighed in relief. Their skin would still be marred, but they had repaired all the real damage.

"Eh, Naruto…" said Sakura, turning to the boy who had been hovering over them the last couple of minutes.

"Yes; Sakura?"

"Could you be a dear and make sure nobody comes this way?" Ino asked, out of sight from Naruto. "And not look in yourself, either?"

"Well, sure, girls. Whatever you say, girls," he said, already scooting away and seemingly all too relieved that they hadn't asked him anything more active than that.

"Thanks…" they replied in unison to his retreating back. Once he was facing the rest of the very empty roof, covering half of his face and failing miserably to look casual, the girls looked at each other.

"So, I say second girlfriend," Ino opened.

"I concur," said Sakura.

Both girls scowled, then sighed. Ino shock her head.

"Rather than Possess or Absorb her, I want to try to Hug her."

Sakura blinked at that. "You think we can?"

"I'm _sure_ we can," Ino replied, looking incredulously at her sister. "Didn't you see what she thinks of us?"

"Oh, sorry. She was thinking between Naruto… and her family."

An uncomfortable silence fell between the girls for a second, before Ino started again.

"Well, she's desperately in love with Naruto and, while she's neutral about us, she would take an arrow for us just so we could keep making Naruto happy. And it isn't Iruka the one who's been dropping the chocolates."

"Damn," said Sakura, scowling horribly. Every time that Naruto would be arriving feeling down, they had found a bag of chocolates inside their desk. Hey, they didn't even know when his birthday was, but that day they had a box with his goggles and a note stating that his birthday was the next day! Now, could she _ever again_ feel angry at the girl that had been making them pass for the perfect girlfriend? "And I had agreed on girlfriend just because of how screwy her home life is, and how desperately she wishes Naruto to look at her!"

"Well; I Hug her, clean her up and take her downstairs. You stick back and explain to Naruto."

"Gotcha; but you'll pass me her memories later." said Sakura, with a nod. Her sis gave her a nod back, and they gently laid Hinata on the bench. They unzipped her parka, opened it wide and began rolling up her blouse and mesh undershirt. The girls pulled back and, after taking a quick glance at Naruto (who had yet to move a millimetre), pulled out their top and undid the upper portion of their bandage, baring their torso.

Self-consciously, they crossed their arms over their chest and glanced up to Naruto, who had yet to move. Before making their move, they conferred one more time.

"You first try to Hug her, Ino. If that doesn't work, you Possess her."

"Gotcha."

Next, they lied across Hinata's body, pressing their chest onto Hinata's stomach. Ino head was sucked into their shoulders; a lump appeared on the left side of the base of Hinata's neck, which quickly grew into Ino's head and neck.

As Sakura wrapped herself back on the bandage and adjusted it to her now narrower upper body, Ino, taking control of Hinata's body, began straightening up Hinata's clothes, starting by the forehead protector that was cutting off her airway.

As her sister sat up and she put back on their top, Sakura spoke the question. "So, sis, could you Hug her?"

"You better believe it" Ino said, nodding emphatically. "It wasn't any harder than Hugging any of our cousins, in fact."

"I guess we really can trust Hinata, then."

After helping each other to stand up and dust their clothes, both girls couldn't help but take the opportunity to get a closer look at Hinata's body.

"Her muscles feel like cables! And her hands feel like she could crush rock! So strong!" Ino said, flexing Hinata's arms and hands.

"And while we have a better butt than her…" Said Sakura, having gone around and begun to shamelessly feel up Hinata's derrière.

"…She wins hands down on the bust department," said Ino, who was feeling up the front of her current body and looking glum: unlike them, Hinata was _not_ an ironing board anymore!

"Well, get going." Sakura alleged, standing back up and patting Hinata's lower back. "I still have to talk to Naruto".

"Right," Ino said, as she began walking back down, not without giving a hug to Naruto on her way by.

Naruto was perplexed, seeing Ino on Hinata's shoulders, but Sakura reached him before he could follow or something. She pushed him to the ground right where he had been standing, then sat on his legs and cuddled into his chest.

While he now looked bewildered, Naruto found the presence of mind to encircle her with his arms. Or perhaps he just did it instinctively; Sakura didn't know. Either way, she took comfort in his warmth and bit her lip in frustration: her sister and her just had the best boyfriend ever, and now they would have to share him with a second girlfriend.

After a minute of just laying there, she incorporated a bit and spoke some words that even as they left her lips, she knew may not have been the best choice of.

"Naruto, we need to talk."

-O-o-O-o-O-

Munching rice-balls while perched on the wall of her future Genin's team current classroom, Yuuhi Kurenai tried to enjoy her last few minutes as a free operative, but failed miserably. If she was to be frank with herself, she knew she was fretting like an adopting mother waiting for the final approval, or perhaps more appropriately, like an aunt who had been estranged with their parents and suddenly received the call that their parents were dead and she was the only option other than an orphanage.

She also knew the comparison wasn't all that off, either: The Leaf wasn't like the Bloody Mist or the Hard Rock, where Genin were largely seen as cannon fodder. Here, she was expected to nurture their abilities, protect them from excessive danger and make them grow as ninja and persons. Unlike Rock and Mist where Jounin would keep taking high-risk missions and their Genin would be expected to follow them and do or die, she would go by on D-rank pay for the better part of next year, unless she took higher ranked solo missions from time to time. Her Genin were largely expected to survive to Chunin, while apparently only one Rock Genin in ten would do so.

Kurenai didn't have preconceptions about what she should expect from her team: ninjas are spies by definition. The Hokage had simply told her she had had her respite without team-mates, and now had to serve her duty toward the younger generation. Thus she was told she would have Naruto Uzumaki, the Soma heir and a third Genin of her choice, then he pulled from a drawer a permit allowing her to spy the academy to her heart's content.

He had also hinted he wanted her to pick up Hyuuga Hinata as her third Genin, although he had been very clear that it was not an order.

Over the last ten days, she had weighted and discarded nearly every Genin. She eventually agreed with her boss's suggestion of using Hyuuga Hinata, not because of how useful the girl could be to her squad (although she would be useful; very much so), but because she thought that her personality would mesh perfectly with the rest of the squad.

She had seen how the twins and Naruto were very lonely, just like Hinata. Naruto had the indefatigable (…and somewhat unbalanced…) belief that he had friends everywhere and that he was the rival and best buddy of the Uchiha kid; on the other hand, the Uchiha kid simply considered him to be an annoyance, his 'friends' treated him like a distant acquaintance, and Naruto only had his girlfriend(s) to _really_ fall back with. Kurenai knew he had had a lot less than a normal childhood and would have preferred he wasn't commissioned until he had had some serious therapy, but knowing his history, she knew that keeping him away from the ranks might make him snap.

The twins, on the other hand, were much more grounded: while the pink head seemed to be in the middle of a regression to childhood (likely because they had had close friends back then) and hopefully approached all the school-ground clichés, the blonde just looked longingly at said clichés, and both were conscious that they were unpopular and only had each other and Naruto to talk to on a regular basis.

Hinata was the worst, though: she didn't have _anybody_ to talk to on a regular basis, and while the others would continue to approach people and had many acquaintances, the Hyuuga girl was a textbook case of child abuse: she would draw as little attention to herself as possible, would relate to her love interest (Naruto) by stalking him, sighing placidly as she saw how the twins made him happy, and leaving little anonymous presents (chocolate bars and candies, as far as Kurenai had seen) both on his and the twins' desks. Kurenai wanted to _personally_ be a factor on prying open Hinata's shell, thus giving her some friends who would heal her wounds, and give them in turn an aristocrat friend who, with wounds healed, might grow up to be a political behemoth.

But still, the last thing she had expected was that, a half hour after teams' announcement, the blonde twin would be able to trust the girl enough to Hug her. She had studied up on the Soma bloodline as soon as she got the assignment and had learned that a Bone-Deep Hug had the prerequisite of absolute trust. If the twins could trust so completely a girl they had seen as invisible just this very morning, then the girls had their own traumas to deal with if they ever hoped to make Chunin.

A too-trusting Chunin was a security risk, after all. Such people don't believe in spies.

On the other hand, she also knew that the Soma bloodline was pretty adept at interrogation, too. She certainly believed that the Soma girls would open up so fully if they learned about Hinata's life but, on the other hand, didn't really approve of her Genin practicing interrogation techniques on each other.

'_Nothing to do but ask them later, though. Or keep quiet and step in if I don't like how things evolve,' _she though.

A few minutes later, Naruto and the pink-head twin entered the classroom again. Kurenai saw that something had indeed happened, as she saw how the pink-head went to reabsorb her blond head from Hinata's shoulders, then how they sat by her, guided her sleeping head to lean on one of their shoulders and signalled Naruto to sit on her other side.

Later on, the first bell sounded and the twins roused Hinata and smiled at her encouragingly. Then the second bell rang.

Kurenai then took her place on the line of instructors as they began to appear on rapid order. She frowned at having to leave an empty space for that arsehole Kakashi, but kept her peace as she waited for teams one to six to be called by their instructors and file out. She then made a comment that Team 7 would need to wait until their instructor showed up, to then call Team 8 to follow her to one of the Academy's training grounds.

With everyone present, she sat on the roomy shade of a large tree and signalled for her team to do so. Once they did, she spoke up.

"Good evening, Team 8. We will now introduce ourselves. Name, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future. I am Kurenai Yuuhi; I like dancing, travelling through Fire Country and refining my jutsu. I dislike smokers and any people who think that women are inferior. My dream is to gain renown and be remembered for my mastery of genjutsu."

The kids nodded. She waved her head to the Soma girls to her right, being caught by the pink-head who nodded back and spoke up.

"My name is Sakura Inoshishi Soma…" the pink-head said.

'_Okay: Their right head= pink head = Sakura!' _though Kurenai, committing the data not on their profile to memory.

"… And mine is Inoshishi Sakura Soma…" the blonde continued.

'_Alright: Their left head= blonde= Ino!'_ though Kurenai, parsing the data.

"But just call us Kushi for short," the pinkettte closed.

'_And that's their single, shared name, as explained by the brochure on their clan,'_ Kurenai thought, parsing the data. According to their clan's customs, she would be expected to refer to that name in singular.

"We like training and our friends…" the blonde continued.

"… And don't like people who think that the Soma bloodline is freaky," the pinkette closed again.

"Soma bloodline?" Naruto asked, interrupting the girls.

Both girls turned to look at their boyfriend, directing an even look at him. After holding the silence for a few seconds and understanding that Naruto wouldn't just 'get' the idea, they sighed.

"You know we have two heads, right, Naruto?" The pink one said.

He nodded dumbly.

"Well, that's our bloodline," the blonde said. "Our Dad has two heads, our siblings all have two heads, and we can expect any babies that we have to have two heads, too."

"Alright, I see," the boy said, giving a slow nod. "I hadn't really looked much into that."

The Soma girls shared a look, but then shrugged.

"Well, we don't like people who don't like the Soma bloodline," Sakura reiterated.

"And for dreams we can't quite agree on them yet," Ino said, sharing a look with her sister before continuing. "But we can agree that we want to master all of our family's jutsus…"

"… And become the best kunoichi that we can be," Sakura finished. Then she waved her chin at her sister, who waved her back. They inhaled again.

"I, Sakura, like cute clothes, pastel colours and eating sweets," the girl said emphatically. Then she turned to her sister and her voice turned a little too sweet. "And I like burning my extra calories through exercise, rather than going into diets."

Ino smiled a little too sweetly at her sister before addressing the others.

"I, Ino, like helping around the house and eating food with little sugar and little fat." Her voice then turned terse. "And I like wearing proper ninja attire, rather than wearing clothing that is fragile and makes me look like a colour-blind marshmallow."

At that finish, Sakura showed her tongue and pulled down her eyelid to her sister, who replied by snorting. Both then looked away, chin ups, and crossed their arms.

Kurenai wondered if the girls noted that they were showing displeasure at each other by crossing each other's arm, but decided she might be better off not knowing: if the answer was 'no', then she might be in for many a headache. At least she knew they would work together despite disagreements, though, which was a great blessing on itself.

She gave a nod to Naruto, who smiled and spoke up.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like my friends and eating ramen; I don't like people who are mean to me for no reason and I dream to be Hokage and protect everyone in this village."

Kurenai couldn't help but smile at that: simple, to the point, and the kid had a lofty goal for just the correct reason. She kept her outward smile as she thought about the 'mean to me for no reason': it wouldn't be nice to have every adult speaking behind his back for containing a demon that he didn't know he had inside. She would need to look into it, now that Naruto was hers to nurture.

She nodded at Hinata and smiled at her in encouragement, who then took a deep breath and spoke.

"I am Hyuuga Hinata. I like eating yakisoba and dumplings. I don't like people who are mean to other people and I wish to become a deserving Heir to the clan Hyuuga."

'_Nothing more personal than food, and she just pretty much stated that she dislikes her family'_ thought Kurenai, frowning inwardly. She could guess the girl was reminded of being a failure every day. Externally she gave her a warm smile before addressing the group.

"Normally, at this time we would have a test to check if you can work as a team and thus can be commissioned as Genin, but I have already seen that you two girls are capable of giving a special Soma Hug to either of your teammates, which in turn means an almost unlimited reciprocal trust, at least between the involved parties. Now we'll just need to build the trust between you two, Hinata and Naruto, and then we'll be a real team."

"It's okay, Hinata," exclaimed Naruto, turning at her and giving her a big grin and a thumb up. "I'll never let you down! Believe it!"

Kurenai wanted to roll her eyes at the boy, but kept her expression down to a subtle grin. The Hyuuga girl smiled and blushed, but nodded at him.

"And team, by the way," said Kurenai. "On your days off you may dress however you want. On the other hand, every time we meet, I want you to dress as if you expected to go on a mission. That means no optical orange…" she eyed Naruto, who frowned… "And no colours that would deviate harshly from the forest environment, so bright colours, especially pastel, are out."

"But what about Hinata, sensei?" asked Sakura, waving at her teammate's general direction and ignoring her other head's victorious grin. "She wears that tan coat all the time and you didn't say anything to her."

Kurenai gave a nod at that.

"That's a good question, Sakura. Never stop asking questions if you don't understand something." Sakura dimpled at the praise. "And that goes to all of you, guys: the only stupid question is the one that goes unasked, so I want all of you asking your questions until you have your answers." As she closed, Kurenai felt particularly proud when Naruto's face filled with awe.

She continued. "But now, before we completely forget the question, I'll say that, ironically enough, Hinata is the best dressed of all of us." She then walked behind Hinata and patted her shoulder. "Now, Hinata, could you please go by that tree and turn into a boulder?" she asked, pointing at a tree across the clearing.

"Hai, Sensei" said Hinata with as much enthusiasm as Kurenai had yet to see on the girl, as she put on her hood and took off at a run. Halfway there she seemed to stumble and fell to the ground. Naruto started, but Kurenai put a hand on his shoulder.

"Watch," she said. Hinata seemed to be writhing in pain but, after watching her carefully, they noted that she was rubbing herself very thoroughly on the dirt, going as far as to kneel up so she could get a better angle to rub her shoulders on the dirt. After about a minute of this, she stood up, took another running start and went to land on the tall grasses, were she also began her writhing routine anew. Plenty of grass seemed to cling to her clothes, too.

A minute after this, she stood up, unzipped her parka, curled up on the base of the tree and simply tucked her legs inside the parka.

Other than her still-darker sandals, she looked like a lump of dirt.

"Good job, Hinata!" said Kurenai, as she clapped her hands. "You certainly seem to understand the concept of camouflage. If only I can make you teach camouflage to your teammates, I think we might be doing real missions quite soon."

* * *

**OMAKE: Alone at night**

After dinner at home, once they made it to their room, Sakura and Ino Soma shed their top and skirt, then undid their full body bandage, and once naked, walked up to their full body mirror and reversed their heads, to have a good look at their back.

While they couldn't get angry at Hinata for having done this to them, they were definitely not eager to _ever again_ have to hold her down against her will: she had been on a position with little leverage to have tried pounding them, and their bandages had blunted her scratching until her fingers left on them nothing but angry but ineffectual red lines. Thing is, when she started using the Gentle Fist, they had to very rapidly remember their Daddy's lessons on how to fight against a Hyuuga, making chakra flow as fast as they could over the affected zone and then pushing through any blockages until the node popped open.

Their hands were almost dropping from Hinata's back by the time they managed to pop the first two nodes, and then they had to split up their efforts and each concentrate on her own side just to keep up! And every node opening felt like a burn! If Hinata hadn't stopped when she did, the twins would have begun crying on her just as much as she was crying on them! And now their back was covered in dark purple spots!

But it would all be for the best, for them, Hinata and their Naruto.

With a nod, the twins turned their heads forward again, sat on the floor and concentrated their chakra in a healing meditation: while they had been blunting the pain all day so far, and had healed the little deep damage even before Ino had Hugged Hinata, their skin now needed a little t-l-c.

A minute later, they glanced back over their shoulders and saw their back once again unblemished.

Sharing a smile, they continued their bedtime routine.

* * *

**OMAKE: The Forest Scene**

Inside the darkened mature forest past the Northern Wall, and owl flew noiselessly while it clutched a dead ferret inside one of its claws. It dropped the carcass, seemingly at random, as it flew through a small clearing, and continued flying on its way. Then, a bobcat exited the nearby bushes, picked up the carcass and ran with it into its burrow bellow a nearby boulder.

Thirty seconds later, inside a hidden bunker north of the Northern Wall, the Hokage was decoding the message written on the inside of the ferret's pelt while a bobcat made happy noises, an ANBU continued to scratch the belly of his pet bobcat, the Truth-Teller continued to read a novel and Iruka, the Soma and the Yamanaka present continued to meditate, as most Leaf ninja were trained to do to keep themselves from fidgeting.

'**Finch, reporting.**

**Intelligence was good: the Orange Fox is inside the cabin  
along with the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing.**

**The scroll has been unsealed.**

**The Orange Fox has learned Shadow Clone Jutsu  
and seems to be trying to master it.**

**No other human presences in the area other than ANBU.**

**Team Songbird holds positions.'**

'_Thus Naruto has finished his so-called mission with flying colours, a mission that I wouldn't have given to less than a team of experienced Chunin even if we were at war. Not to say he utterly defeated the 'God of Shinobi' without even throwing a punch.'_

The Hokage frowned as he unconsciously fingered the wads of tissue stuffed up his nose.

'_Well, ninja law is clear here: 'If your leader sends you to do something illegal, the fault falls on your leader as long as you stated the illegality of the ordered actions'. Now we just need to learn if the Leadership Rule can save Naruto. I really don't want to declare your son a traitor, Minato.'_

Calling up some fire, the Hokage made the ferret's pelt smoulder, then catch fire inside his hands before he tossed it inside the currently empty hearth. He then stood up, nodded at the now wide-awake ninja around him and headed out.

After a minute worth of forestwalking at a speed that Sarutobi wasn't proud of, he arrived at the clearing where the cabin was. He made an offhand gesture to disperse to his followers, then landed in front of the cabin and made another offhand gesture while he nodded at a shadow. An ANBU exited that shadow, made a simple reverence at the Hokage and went to knock at the cabin's door. Naruto opened almost immediately, beamed at him and exited.

Followed a heartbeat later by another Naruto.

Followed in turn by two more Narutos, one of which had the Forbidden Scroll slung on his back.

The four of them walked up to him and came to stand up side by side in front of him. He saw four toothy grins before they started to speak to him, one after the other:

"Hello, old man!"

"I completed the mission…"

"Found this cool clone Jutsu…"

"And learned how to do it!"

"Nothing is too hard for…"

"Uzumaki!"

"NARUTO!"

"The next Hokage of the Leaf!"

"BELIEVE IT!" They all finished together, pumping their fists in the air.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the God of Shinobi, suddenly remembered a nightmare about a dozen mini-Minatos that he had soon after he first saw Kushina pregnant. The sudden migraine of his nightmare come true made him rub his temples for a second, but managed to control it after a second and looked up again.

"Report on your mission then, Naruto," he said, while keeping the same stony face he would keep whenever he received a mission report.

Once again, the lot began speaking in turns:

"First, Miyuki-sensei told me to go into your office and retrieve the Forbidden Scroll…"

"The one you hide behind your orange books…"

"Here!" interjected the one who was carrying the scroll.

"The one you had told me that I wouldn't be allowed to read until I was a Jounin."

"I'm so happy that you decided that I was now allowed to check it out…"

"…and learn one jutsu from it!"

"You are the best, old man!"

"Yes!" said the other three of them, and the lot came forward and hugged his midsection.

"Eh… yes, Naruto," Hiruzen said, trying to keep his composure as he patted two heads and tried to not smile at the situation: flimsily, but he could place the blame on himself rather than the kid, and he was the Hokage, so his word was law. "But please, Naruto, finish your report," he said, gently pushing away the multiplied kid.

"Yes"

"…sorry, old man…"

"I got carried away!"

"Well, I found you when I was sneaking out…"

"Used my Sexy jutsu to deal with you…"

"I finished sneaking out of the Hokage building…"

"I sneaked out of the village…"

"I arrived here…"

"Then opened the scroll…"

"Learned the first jutsu on it…"

"And have been practicing it while I waited for Miyuki-sensei to come and examine me."

Hiruzen nodded. Everything checked so far. Looking behind Naruto, he received an 'okay' sign from the Truth-teller, who then disappeared from sight again.

"And have you learned what this technique is good for?"

"Yeah!"

"The scroll says that its good when you need backup…"

"…Or if you need to enter a place and do something there…"

"…And once you do it, the security would go up and you wouldn't be able to get out."

"This way, the clone does it and you can be already gone by the time the people inside would close the place on you."

"Yes; that's correct," said Hiruzen, nodding at the boy. "Now, what else is the technique good for?"

Four faces wouldn't meet his.

"Eh…"

"I hadn't gotten that far yet…"

"It's okay, Naruto; you have done well," he said. "Now, Naruto; could you have a clone of yours accompany me into the cabin?"

"Yeah…"

"Sure…"

And he walked into the cabin, followed by a single Naruto. As soon as he had closed the door, he knelt on the floor, motioned for the copy of his near-grandson to kneel before him, and told him:

"This jutsu is also a very important espionage tool for the Leaf, Naruto. It allows a ninja to have a clone learn something, then dispel itself and the ninja will now know it. Now send another clone here, Naruto," finished Hiruzen, producing a shuriken and nailing the clone almost before it had realized it was under attack.

A few seconds later, another Naruto stepped in and, on his gesture, knelt where the previous one had been.

"However, the technique has the serious disadvantage that the clone will dispel itself after a single good hit, or as soon as something pierces its skin. Thus, it isn't too recommended for combat, unless someone has an amazing quantity of chakra. And you, Naruto, have from the Uzumaki name the property of having amazing quantities of chakra."

'_Yeah, from the Uzumaki having been jailors to the Kyuubi for the last three generation,'_ he thought, wincing inwardly as Naruto gaped.

Hiruzen continued before Naruto would make him any questions that he didn't want to answer at the time:

"Thus, Naruto, I don't want you to teach this technique to any teammate of yours. This technique is very dangerous for people with normal amounts of chakra." He paused for dramatic effect before adding the next: "Listen: I suspect that you may be able to produce hundreds if not thousands of clones, but _I_ can scarcely produce _seven._ If a regular Genin tries to produce even a couple, _They. Could. Die._

"Understood?"

The clone nodded hurriedly.

"Good," Hiruzen said. "Now dispel yourself and send the next one."

The clone picked up the dropped shuriken and stabbed its other hand.

The next one hurriedly entered, knelt in front of the Hokage and picked up the once again dropped shuriken, keeping it on its hand.

"Now I will tell you something very important, Naruto," he said, dropping his tone to signify how down to business he needed to be at the moment, and activating an embedded Seal on the Hokage hat to obscure his face and make his eyes shine slightly. "While I am very proud of you having accomplished this mission and I am indeed making you a Genin by having succeeded on it, I must tell you that the Chunin Mizuki has now been revealed as a traitor, and he tried to defect by making you steal the scroll, then stealing it from you and leaving you behind to take the blame.

"Now remember!" he said, now activating another Seal to make his voice even deeper and give it a slight echo. "Other than inside the heads and the hearts of the ninja of the Leaf, the secrets of the Leaf are NEVER to go beyond the walls of the Leaf." He made a dramatic pause.

"That is something that you must know as a ninja of the Leaf, especially if you wish to become my successor.

"Now dispel yourself and send me the real Naruto."

The clone didn't even stab itself. It just gripped harder the shuriken and popped.

The real one now came in, subdued as he shuffled forward, clutching the Scroll now that he understood what he had done. He came down in front of the Hokage, but kept his arms tightly coiled around the scroll.

Hiruzen made his own shadow clone, which went to Naruto and gently relieved the scroll from him before walking out of the cabin. With that diligence taken care of, Hiruzen deactivated the dramatic Seals on the hat and removed it, laying it to his side. Having bared his own forehead protector, he then untied it from his own head and presented it forward.

Naruto's eyes first filled with tears, then he began sniffing, then he finally launched himself at Hiruzen and had a good cry inside his arms. Hiruzen had to make another clone to pick up his hat, then pick up the fallen insignia, push Naruto's goggles down to his neck and place his old insignia on their former place.

They stayed like that for a while, until Naruto had cried out. Hiruzen then produced a napkin and cleaned Naruto up, to then give him a last hug and push him away.

Naruto complied, then waited for Hiruzen to incorporate himself and walked with him out of the cabin.

"Now, Naruto; I want you to make a clone, then for your clone to make another, then the next clone to make another, and so on, until your last clone can't hold. Understood?"

Naruto nodded seriously, then squared himself, made the Ram hand-seal, concentrated and produced a clone. This one produced another, and so on until the twelfth Naruto appeared and both the twelfth and the eleventh disappeared.

'_Ten generations times half the power each one means that Naruto should be able to produce at least a thousand and twenty eight clones in one go. And that was without even trying too hard! I wonder where he'll go once he can control his power…' _

"That's good, Naruto. Now remember that your limit at the moment is at a thousand clones, but that I don't want you to have more than a hundred out at a given time. Understood?"

"Yes, old man," the eleven Narutos said evenly.

"Good," he said. He then turned specifically at the clones. "Now dispel yourselves but the first four. Then Two, Three and Four will go with ANBU…" He made a gesture, and four ANBU appeared behind them. "…and show them exactly how you first entered the Tower, then how you exited, then how you made your way out of the village. And Nightingale," he said, looking at the one standing behind the first clone. "Take that clone to sleep, then tomorrow make sure that he learns the theory behind the Shadow Clone jutsu and masters it. Understood?"

The four ANBU nodded. Hiruzen nodded back and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. Four echoing yelps later, the four clones and the four ANBU disappeared.

"And you are to now go to bed, Naruto, then report at the Academy for tomorrow's team assignment. Understood?"

Naruto imitated the curt nod of the now-gone ANBU. Humouring him, Hiruzen used the same dismissal and saw him almost stumble as he bolted away into the forest.

With another gesture he summoned the rest of the party and began forestwalking back to the village.

Once past the Wall, he made another gesture and the party dissolved. He turned toward his distant home and began roof-hopping, but stopped once he noticed he had a follower.

It was the two-headed figure of his old teammates, Yasashiku Yamanaka and Sorano Soma. As they approached, he noticed that Sorano didn't look too happy at the moment.

She looked more like _positively pissed_.

"So, you have enough 'orange books' to hide a small whale behind them?" She asked; staying barely composed while her face turned purple.

And as Yasashiku mouthed 'I'm sorry' and took the coward's way out by separating from Sorano and bounding away, Hiruzen felt a drop of cold sweat roll down his neck.

Yes, he could now remember the real reason why he had married Miyuki Tenpino: while he had been badly in love for her twin Hisano, he had always harboured the fear of Sorano one day biting _him_ off…

* * *

**OMAKE: a dress doesn't agree with roof hopping**

(This is the last scene of chapter 1, seen from the girls' perspective rather than the Hokage's. If the rest of the chapter happens in early autumn, this one happens in early spring.)

For the fourth time since they had arrived to the bridge five minutes ago, Ino and Sakura Soma were forced to push down their dress, least the breezes have them flashing their panties at Konoha's early morning traffic.

But still, the breeze was cold!

They were hugging their body and shivering, and Ino was glaring at an uncomfortable-looking Sakura.

'_Of all days, why did you have to choose today to grow up and not pick up one of your Lolita outfits!_' Ino mind-spoke at her sister. _'Last Saturday we were looking like an overgrown stick of cotton candy, but I never complained about being a comfortably warm fuzz-ball!'_

Sakura frowned slightly at that.

'_Right back at you, Ino-pig!' _she transmitted_. 'I took this dress out of your side of the closet: it's the same one you picked up like two months ago, when it was mid winter.'_

'_Yeah, but under the dress I put on two layers of leggings, my winter boots, a full slip, one of your puffy blouses and some proper elastic shorts, and on top of it I had one of your Lolita coats, an overcoat and a scarf.'_

'_Give me a break! All the past week has been so nice that I never thought it could sour up so thoroughly!'_

Silence.

Sakura sighed._ 'If we catch a cold or something, you pick our clothes all of next week. Deal?'_

'_No deal,_' Ino sent back._ 'I could have done the same mistake.' Then_, she added an afterthought:_ 'But you could go a little easier on the sweets, though.'_

Sakura frowned, but then sighed and nodded, accepting her penance.

They waited in silence a couple more minutes, pushing their dress down trice, until Naruto finally appeared. He surprised them, though: he had his customary orange pants, but rather than wearing his customary orange jacket (which they were half-hoping to borrow), was wearing an orange T-shirt and, like them, was hugging himself to stave off the cold. Being pretty cold themselves, the twins' first reaction was to literally welcome him with open arms, then cling to his lukewarm body until they could control their shivers.

After about a minute, he pulled his head back from between theirs, but just enough so his cheeks were on theirs, so he could speak directly into their ears.

"Cold morning, isn't it?" he whispered into their ears.

The girls nodded, somewhat shakily.

"Why aren't you wearing your coat?" asked Sakura, also widening her link with her sis so she could hear as well.

"I thought I could wear less, for a change" he replied. "I had been roasting on it all of last week."

"Same here," said Ino, interrupting Sakura before she articulated. "We could have been wearing one of Sakura's puffy dresses, but we are instead wearing one of mine."

On the other side of Naruto's head, Sakura gaped her mouth for another moment before she closed it: her sis had taken the blame! She sent a sentiment of gratefulness at her sis, but Ino waved it away and thought '_sweets'_ at her. Sakura pouted, causing Ino to let go a little giggle into Naruto's hear.

"Why the laughter?" he muttered, sounding confused.

"Never mind, Na-kun," replied Sakura. "Just a little girl talk."

"O…K", Naruto said, reacting as expected by sounding like he didn't want to know more.

"Why did you want to see us so early, anyway?" asked Ino, changing the subject.

"Well," he opened. "One of the nearby towns is having a big festival and I wanted to go check it out. I heard one of the big things in these festivals is the food; so I wanted to get there before breakfast time."

"Sounds cool so far," commented Sakura. "Do you know which festival that would be?" she added.

"Ehh… I don't really know," he said, sounding uncomfortable. "All I know is that it would be today and that it would be on Kokubu, the little town a little over two hours north from here."

"That would be the Kagoshima sanctuary festival!" Ino squealed. "We have always wanted to go there!"

Right that moment, a breeze passed by and the girls pressed themselves harder against Naruto. He seemed to take that as a command, as he hugged them harder before releasing them and starting a fireman's carry: he knelt down, putting his shoulder on the front of their hips and using his arm to press their knees into his chest. They instinctively reacted by throwing their body forward and hugging his mid-section upside-down –their group had precisely been practicing carrying techniques the past week—, and as soon as their arms had gone around his body he launched up onto one of the nearby buildings.

Ino yelped from the sudden movement and joined Sakura in hugging Naruto harder, but was confused by Sakura screaming all the way up. But then they reached the apex of the curve, Ino felt their dress reverse and she and a suddenly blinded Naruto joined Sakura and screeched until they crash-landed on the roof.

By some miracle Naruto managed to absorb the whole impact and lightly settled them down on their feet, but as soon as Naruto stopped moving, Sakura took control of their whole body, disengaged from him and began pushing and holding down their dress.

Ino was annoyed at Sakura, though. '_We could have fallen heads first down the building and broken our necks, yet trust Sakura to worry more about flashing our panties,'_ she thought. She forcefully took back control of her side of their body and slapped Sakura's hand away from their skirt, to then direct a black look at her other head as soon as she looked up.

Sakura took a moment to regain her dignity, but she did. Just in time for a much colder breeze to sweep the rooftop, which made them jump anew into Naruto's embrace.

Still shivering, Sakura sent a message at her sis: '_Adding his pants to our bodice should keep us all a lot warmer,_' she transmitted, and while her sister mentally gaped her mouth, she put her own mouth on Naruto's ear and spoke: "Can we try a clan jutsu with you, Na-kun? I promise it will make us all warmer."

Sakura reacted to his shaky nod by producing a penknife from the back of their bodice, turning him around and, borrowing her sister's arm, cutting open the right side of his shirt's neck.

He tried to squirm upon feeling his shirt attacked, but Ino, who had caught on to her sister's plans, leaned into his left shoulder and rested her cheek on his neck, calming him down for her sis to finish her labour. They then changed roles, and once his shirt was open on both sides, they gave him a brief hug, then pushed him down and rolled up the bottom of his shirt, exposing his back.

The girls shared a quick glance and a nod: the next part would need to be fast. Moving quickly, they looked around for a moment, then pulled out their dress, pressed their tummy on Naruto's back and liquefied into him. They rapidly swam in his body and grew back their heads on either side of his.

'_We are Hugging Naruto!'_ Sakura giddily squealed through their mind-link.

'_I know; I know!'_ replied Ino, equally excited, even if trying to remain more dignified.

His heart rate exploded and he tried to move, but they quickly pressed down their will to keep him still. He then tried to turn his head to look at them, but their heads were too close to his for him to be able to move much. They first pressed their cheeks against his, then grew out their own hands out of his wrists and grabbed his cheeks soothingly, until he calmed down and stopped trying to move. They then could concentrate on modifying his body further, growing his chest sideways (so he could move his head a bit sideways, once they stopped pressing their cheeks on his), growing one of their own hearts inside his chest (so he wouldn't have insufficiency), expanding his lungs and connecting their own tracheas to his lungs.

With him still stunned, but cooperative, they took control of his body and first rolled down his shirt, then turned around, picked up their dress and slipped it on, picked up their discarded underwear and shoes and slipped them inside the skirt's pockets (even if their shoes were still sticking out) and, after looking around for a second to check for any forgotten items (such as Sakura's Alice band and Ino's doughnut, which they then put on), gave him a couple of gentle slaps (so to make him react), let go of any control over his body and reabsorbed their hands into his wrists.

'_And now we are helpless; at his mercy!' _Sakura squealed again at her sister's mind.

Ino would have face-palmed, but the option was denied to her, as she was nothing but a head and neck attached to the enlarged space between his neck and left shoulder. What she could do was blush, then turn at Naruto and say "All ready, Na-kun; you can move now."

He had been watching them work, but the first thing he did on reacting was look down and pull at their skirt.

"Girls, I'm wearing your dress!" he said, somewhat alarmed.

Sakura pouted, but Ino saw that coming and said "_We_ all are, Naruto; not just you. And _we_ are also wearing your shirt, pants, underwear and shoes." She then nudged his head with hers and continued: "Now, weren't you going to take us somewhere?"

"Oh, yeah!" he exclaimed. He started, but then stopped and tried to glance at the extra heads on his shoulders. "Eh… Ready to go, Kushi?"

"Of course!" they said, excitedly. He grinned, took off at a run and jumped onto the next roof. His landing, and the next few others, were a bit less than perfect (eliciting a few not-so-excited squeals from Sakura), but he eventually adapted to his altered body and his roof-hopping became smooth again.

-O-o-O-o-O-

As it happened, Kushi could have separated from him something like an hour later, but they just didn't until they all had to go to the bathroom around noon, after having visited the temple. When they came out he was waiting for them without his shirt, and they were just too happy to Hug him again.

Without his shirt covering his armpits they could grow their own arms too, and had a good time feeding him lunch while he tried to coordinate his two arms to feed them both.

Later on they evened out the Hug with him, making it so they controlled their body as much as he did. Not that they disliked him asking for their opinion every five minutes, but it was getting a little too… repetitive.

They then had a great time in the carnival, trying different games and making the best of the little money they had on. Ino even managed to win him a frog wallet, which her sister called gross but he really seemed to appreciate.

They made it back to the Leaf by mid afternoon, exhausted and broke, but full of the happy memory of their first day spent inside Naruto's skin.

It wouldn't be the last.

* * *

**Author Note 1:**

First of all, Hi there. I hope you're enjoying the story.

**Author Note 2:**

I'm laying it a bit thickly, but Sakura and Ino see themselves as a single entity: Naruto thinks he has two girlfriends in them (although may or may not know what a girlfriend is), but they see themselves as a single girlfriend to the boy, thus not even counting each other when they think about sharing him with another girl. Furthermore, their own parents refer to them in singular, so it wasn't such a leap in credibility that they tell their team leader to refer to them in singular and by a single name. It's just convenient.

Within a few more chapters I should have built enough psychological momentum to stop laying it so thickly, but for now I ask you people to bear with me.

**Author Note 3:**

I'm imagining that the ninja academy would be considered a military installation, thus not letting the civilian personnel possess control on opening and closing it. On the other hand, I consider that they would consider it a minimal security facility, not needing around-the-clock security beyond being included into the daily rounds of the police, ANBU or whoever patrols the night. Thus, they follow a minimal security procedure that may only be considered symbolic: the superintendent gives the keys to a ninja for him to close at night, then receives them back from the same ninja in the morning.

**Author Note 4:**

Naruto never painted on the Hokage Monument. He had a girlfriend to keep his mind busy.

In the Hinata scene, the twins are misinterpreting the Trust issue about the Soma Hug. You don't do the jutsu, then trust somebody: you trust somebody, then do the jutsu.

Naruto does not know about the Kyuubi at the moment. I'm not looking at my detailed outline at the moment (mainly because it's among the files that I have yet to asses whether to rebuild or redo from scratch), but I believe that he'll be finding out around chapter seven or eight.

Also, I have to say it: chapters 3 and 4 were also pretty much ready, but I largely lost them. It's quite annoying to admit that now I have more written on either chapter 12 or 13 than I do on chapters 3 and 4 together. Kill me.


End file.
